Description of research activity:
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In 2026, the PlantRepro lab opened with the aim of exploring the molecular mechanism underlying sexual reproduction of flowering plants.
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With a focus on gamete interaction, in previous projects we have isolated reproductive cells from Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) to generate highly specific transcriptomic and proteomic datasets of these special cells under normal and heat stress conditions. These results give us the possibility to integrate, identify, and characterize new molecular players involved in double fertilization and how abiotic stress impacts this process.
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In addition, we study the molecular program of other economically important processes related to plant reproduction, like parthenocarpy (fruits without seeds) and apomixis (seeds without fertilization) in collaboration with other national and international groups.
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The identification of essential genes involved in those processes and its conservation in crops represent the possibility to manipulate in our favor the reproductive process, and consequently guarantee our main source of food under an ever-changing climate.
Scientific-technical goals:
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To characterize new genes involved in gamete interaction and double fertilization.
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To identify putative plant gamete genes related to heat-stress resilience during sexual reproduction.
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To contribute to elucidate the molecular mechanism of parthenocarpic and apomictic egg cells of specific crops.
Research lines:
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Characterization of KO lines of sperm cell specific genes.
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To explore the impact of heat stress during progamic phase in tomato and Arabidopsis.
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Creation and analysis of omic datasets from plant gametes of Arabidopsis and economically relevant crops.
